LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Followers of Bolivia’s influential ex-President Evo Morales on Monday joined a massive protest movement fueled by the nation’s worst economic crisis in a generation.
The rallies and roadblocks that started over two weeks ago have become the biggest challenge so far to President Rodrigo Paz, Bolivia’s first conservative leader after nearly two decades of socialist rule.
After a six-day march through the Andes, thousands of Morales'
supporters, some brandishing dynamite sticks and slingshots, converged on the capital city where they were met by riot police. Dynamite blasts rumbled in downtown La Paz. Security forces fired back with canisters of tear gas that wafted over demonstrators who called for the president's resignation just six months into his tenure. “Homeland or death, we will win!” they chanted.
Paz came to office last year as a wave of conservative leaders allied with the Trump administration swept Latin America. Inheriting the nation's most severe economic crisis in 40 years, he has struggled to replenish Bolivia’s scarce fuel, restrain its massive budget deficit and resolve its shortage of U.S. dollars while also placating the powerful groups linked to Morales that could disrupt his presidency.
In recent days, his government has reached deals with striking miners and teachers who agreed to end their protests.
Road blockades have long been the main weapon of social movements allied with Morales that claim to represent Bolivia's rural Indigenous majority. Over the past 16 days, these blockades have stranded thousands of trucks on key highways, triggering shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies in La Paz and other cities.
The government deployed police and military officers across the country to try to break the blockades over the weekend, leading to an unspecified number of injuries and at least 90 arrests as of Monday, according to the public prosecutor.
“They can march if it’s peaceful, but we will take action if they commit crimes,” Deputy Interior Minister Hernán Paredes said on Monday.
Paz accuses Morales of orchestrating the unrest to undermine his administration.
Eight allied Latin American governments, from Argentina to Panama, released a joint statement last week rejecting “any action aimed at destabilizing the democratic order.” The U.S. State Department added to the condemnation Sunday, saying it supports Paz's efforts “to restore order for the peace, security, and stability of the Bolivian people.”
At Paz’s request, neighboring Argentina announced it would start a weeklong humanitarian airlift to alleviate shortages in the country.
Morales marshaled the latest march from his hideout in Bolivia's remote tropics. He has been holed up in the highlands for the past year and a half, evading an arrest warrant on charges relating to his sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl.
Morales says the allegations are politically motivated.
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